In swearing-in ceremony, LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva promises new direction for department

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Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva poses after being sworn in at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018 after his wife Vivian, a 30-year veteran of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, held the Bible. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

“Si se puede,” the woman said, still sitting but chanting and jabbing her fist.

“Si se pudo,” he said back in Spanish, pointing at the woman. “Yes, we could.”

Cheers from activist groups punctuated the ceremony at East Los Angeles College. The same groups in the past have had few occasions to rejoice in electing a new sheriff, a non-partisan position where incumbents rarely face competition for their jobs.

Sheriff-elect Alex Villanueva, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant, with his wife Vivian, a 30-year veteran of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, share a moment during his swearing in ceremony for Los Angeles County Sheriff at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Alex Villanueva, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant, is sworn in as Los Angeles County Sheriff at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

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Sheriff-elect Alex Villanueva, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant, is sworn in as Los Angeles County Sheriff at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Sheriff-elect Alex Villanueva, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant, is sworn in as Los Angeles County Sheriff at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Sheriff-elect Alex Villanueva, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant, with his wife Vivian, a 30-year veteran of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, salute during the flag ceremony before he was sworn in as Los Angeles County Sheriff at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Sheriff-elect Alex Villanueva, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant, greets Sup. Janice Hahn after she spoke about him during his swearing in ceremony for Los Angeles County Sheriff at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

During Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s swearing in ceremony, former State Senator Kevin de León speaks about Villanueva at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Alex Villanueva, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant, is pinned by his son Jared during his swearing in ceremony for Los Angeles County Sheriff at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Sheriff-elect Alex Villanueva’s wife Vivian, a 30-year veteran of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, adjusts his sheriff’s badge after he is pinned during his swearing in ceremony for Los Angeles County Sheriff at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Alex Villanueva, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant, shakes his son Jared’s hand after he pinned him during his swearing in ceremony for Los Angeles County Sheriff at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is sworn in at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018 as his wife Vivian, a 30-year veteran of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, holds the Bible. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva poses after being sworn in at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018 after his wife Vivian, a 30-year veteran of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, held the Bible. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva pins Capt. Tim Murakami as assistant sheriff after Villanueva was sworn in as sheriff at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva pins Commander Maria Gutierrez as assistant sheriff after Villanueva was sworn in as sheriff at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks after being sworn in at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks after being sworn in at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks after being sworn in at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva introduces staff after being sworn in at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

An interfaith benediction is held after Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is sworn in at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva visits with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department rank and file after being sworn in at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva with his wife Vivian, a 30-year veteran of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, visits with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department rank and file after being sworn in at East Los Angeles College on Monday, December 3, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Packed in the Ingalls Auditorium was the collection of political groups that boosted Villaneuva’s campaign — labor unions, immigration rights advocates and members of some of the county’s Democratic clubs.

Right next to them were hundreds of rank-and-file sheriffs deputies getting their first chance to hear from their new boss.

Many deputies, too, celebrated Villanueva’s election — the union representing the department’s rank-and-file members, the Association of Los Angeles County Sheriffs Deputies, pumped $1.3 million into his campaign.

ALADS also issued a vote of “no confidence” in his opponent, outgoing Sheriff Jim McDonnell, days before the general election on Nov. 6.

Villanueva spoke to both groups in his speech, reflecting how he was able to complete his one-year rise from a retired sheriff’s lieutenant — whose last post was commanding a shift of several dozen deputies at the Pico Rivera station — to now the top law enforcement agent in the county in charge of a department with a budget of more than $3 billion.

“We must listen to both the rank-and-file,” Villanueva said, “and the people they serve.”

Speaking to his wife, Vivian, a fellow deputy who sat on stage with him, Villanueva said both of their careers were derailed because of his public stances.

“You bared the brunt of retaliation leveled my way for years,” he said.

The race for sheriff ended on Nov. 27, when McDonnell conceded in a speech at the department’s headquarters at the Hall of Justice in downtown L.A.

After leading on election night, McDonnell’s share of the vote shrank with each subsequent update, until eventually Villanueva pulled ahead the day after the election. In the final count, Villanueva led with 53 percent of the vote to 47 percent for McDonnell.

The new sheriff drew a stark contrast between himself and McDonnell over S.B. 54, better known as California’s “sanctuary state” bill. The law prohibited law enforcement agencies in the state from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

The author of S.B. 54, former state Sen. Kevin de León, was among the speakers at the swearing in ceremony on Monday. He said Villaneuva’s election meant undocumented immigrants no longer needed to fear county deputies would hand them over to ICE agents seeking to deport them.

“You can live in L.A. County with dignity, safety, and yes, sanctuary,” De León said.

De León, who unsuccessfully ran against Sen. Dianne Feinstein this year and made a name for himself with feisty statements about President Donald Trump, said what LASD does as the largest the country’s largest sheriff’s department can have implications for other law enforcement policy nationwide.

“The country is watching very closely,” he said to Villanueva from the podium.

The new sheriff’s personal story was also on display at the event on Monday — ELAC’s president, Martin Martinez, called Villanueva “one of our own.”

Villanueva, who lives in La Habra Heights, for years worked as campus police officer in the Los Angeles Community College District, patrolling ELAC and other campuses throughout the system. He met his wife, Vivian, when she was training to become a deputy at the sheriff’s East L.A. station.

Villanueva said promoting local ties would be one his priorities as sheriff.

“Kids from Compton should grow up to serve as deputies in Compton,” he said. “Kids in East L.A. should grow up to serve East L.A.”

Joshua Cain is a crime and public safety reporter for the Southern California News Group, based at the L.A. Daily News in Woodland Hills. He has worked for SCNG since 2016, previously as a digital news editor in the San Gabriel Valley, helping cover breaking news, crime and local politics.

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